Late night arrests at Vandenberg Air Force Base

Posted on February 26, 2012

by Jim Haber

The latest nuclear missile provocation came in the dark, with an unbeastly roar that pierced the chilly coastal fog in the wee hours of February 25.  A shimmering light rose above the clouds and arched over the Pacific Ocean, the incomparable threat to distant enemies reaffirmed.

Witnessing the latest midnight test flight of a first-strike Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the gate of Vandenberg Air Force Base was a group of nearly 100 demonstrators, the largest nuclear missile launch protest there in nearly 30 years.
Fifteen members of the group crossed from the designated protest area onto base property, where they were arrested for trespassing.
One of those arrested, Cindy Sheehan, posted this account on her blog:

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Ministry of Defence HQ in London marked on Ash Wednesday in resistance to nuclear weapons

Posted on February 24, 2012
photo by Alan Gerrard

One hundred and fifty people gathered at an Ash Wednesday event organised by Pax Christi and the London Catholic Worker in repentance and resistance to British nuclear weapons. The group proceeded to the M.O.D. building on White Hall, as activists broke off to mark the building that controls British nuclear weapons.  Seven Catholic Workers, a Quaker, a doctor and a priest were detained and searched.

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Bradley Manning formally charged with aiding the enemy, defers plea

Posted on February 23, 2012

[CALL YOUR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE:  DISMISS ALL THE CHARGES AGAINST BRADLEY MANNING]

No date set for WikiLeaks suspect’s trial but Manning’s lawyer says he would object to any delay in the trial beyond June

 

Bradley Manning sat through most of the proceedings at Ford Meade military base with his hands clasped. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP

Bradley Manning, the American soldier accused of being the source of the biggest leak of US state secrets in history, was on Thursday formally charged with aiding the enemy, during the first day of his court martial. If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life in military custody with no chance of parole.

Manning, 24, deferred his plea to the 22 charges against him, and deferred a decision over whether he wanted a military judge or a jury to hear his case. A plea can be deferred right up until the beginning of his military trial, which is unlikely to take place before August.

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If you love me, Shut It Down!

Posted on February 14, 2012

Shut It Down! group photo by Marcia Gagliardi

Lending heart to the campaign to end nuclear power forever, the nine women of the Shut It Down Affinity Group brought a Shut It Down Valentine on Monday to the headquarters of Entergy Corporation, which operates the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.

Each wearing a Shut It Down Valentine for Entergy, the death-masked women processed for about twenty minutes in a silent circle in Entergy’s driveway. Every several seconds, one of the women struck a small gong to signify the death knell for Entergy, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, and nuclear power everywhere.

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Fr. Bix completes 3 month sentence for Y-12 protest

Posted on February 10, 2012

from Disarm Now Plowshares

Friends,

At 10:15 a.m. on February 9, William “Bix” Bichsel, SJ was released from SeaTac Federal Detention Center.  According to Theresa Power-Drutis, Bix’s first request was to “head over the bridge to Bangor.”  His second request was a latte.  His chauffeurs went for the second request.  With all the milk he consumed during his liquids-only fasts while in solitary he seems to have rediscovered a desire for dairy products.

Morning Latte… or another liquids only fast???

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Rafil Dhafir resentenced to same 22 years in prison

Posted on February 6, 2012

Dr. Rafil Dhafir

Update from Katherine Hughes, For the Dr. Dhafir Support Committee.

On Friday, February 3rd, in Syracuse, New York, U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue resentenced Dr. Rafil Dhafir to 22 years in prison, in large part because he is unrepentant about sending food and medicine to starving Iraqi civilians in violation of International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). According to UN estimates, between 1 and 1.5 million Iraqi civilians died as a direct result of the U.S. and U.K.-sponsored UN sanctions against Iraq. Dr. Dhafir made the correct moral choice and undertook the obligation imposed on all American citizens by Nuremberg Principle IV, to reduce the genocidal consequences of sanctions, by open assistance of food and medicine to Iraqi children and adults via his Charity Help the Needy for 13 years.

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Pentagon arrests mark Feast of the Holy Innocents

Posted on January 24, 2012

report from Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington, D.C.

Focusing on the theme: LET ALL THE WORLD’S CHILDREN LIVE–REMEMBER THE MASSACRED CHILDREN AND CREATE THE BELOVED COMMUNITY IN A DISARMED WORLD, over 60 people from the Atlantic and Southern Life Communities, and the New Jerusalem Community in Philadelphia, gathered in Washington, D.C. from December 27-30 for the annual Holy Innocents Faith and Resistance retreat. The retreat included a moving ritual on the theme of the retreat, several compelling panels with parents and children reflecting on their experience living in Catholic Worker and resistance communities,  prayerful reflection and liturgy,  three nonviolent actions, and a spirited talent show.

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Persistent women arrested again blocking Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant driveway

Posted on January 23, 2012

As they participated in a walking meditation in the Entergy Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant driveway to mourn cancer deaths caused by radioactive emissions, fourteen women of the Shut It Down Affinity Group were arrested Wednesday, January 18 by Vernon police and Vermont state police when they refused to move.

All were transported to and booked at the Vernon police station where Chief Mary-Beth Hebert coordinated collection of data for later charges. At the power plant, Chief Hebert told the women they would be charged with unlawful trespass, but no citations were issued during the bookings and no arraignment dates were provided.

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Peace activists occupy nuclear sub base entrance to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on January 23, 2012

photo by Leonard Eiger

On January 14, 2012, activists from a local peace group blocked entry to the main gate at the Navy’s West coast Trident nuclear submarine base for nearly a half hour in an act of civil resistance to nuclear weapons.

Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action held a peaceful vigil and nonviolent direct action at the main gate to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Silverdale, Washington. The group protested the U.S. government’s continued deployment of the Trident nuclear weapons system. Its continued reliance on nuclear weapons as an instrument of foreign policy is in contravention of both U.S. and international laws.

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Almost 40 anti-torture activists arrested at White House

Posted on January 23, 2012

From Witness Against Torture

MESSAGE TO OBAMA: NO GUANTANAMO, NO BAGRAM, NO NDAA!!

Thirty-seven members of Witness Against Torture were arrested in front of the White House on Thursday, January 12 around 3 p.m. Dressed in the iconic Guantanamo orange jumpsuits and black hoods, and accompanied by a cage representing indefinite detention, the activists were warned to clear the sidewalk by National Park Police or risk arrest. After occupying the sidewalk for more than three hours, they were arrested one by one.

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